A new youth program is introduced to help young adults avoid substance use like smoking and drug use. The Mental Health and Recovery Services of Allen, Auglaize, and Hardin counties are offering a one-day weekend program that will give adolescents the tools they need to make an informed decision on their behavior. Students are referred to “I Mind” Saturday class by schools, parents, or even themselves. They just want the youth to get accurate information about activities they are participating in like vaping, drugs, and smoking.
Mental Health and Recovery Services Executive Director Tammie Colon had this to say about the new program. “It really isn’t about wrong or right, it’s about making sure they have accurate information about what they’re doing to themselves physically, what they are doing to themselves developmentally and allowing them to self evaluate. So they do assessments but they provide the answers which gives them the results of that. So they know where they are at on that risk level if they continue to participate in that behavior.”
The “I Mind” program is held every Saturday and is a 6-hour session. Many of the students they are trying to help, have faced disciplinary actions at their schools. Other referrals come from concerned parents trying to approach the subject prior to school policies are violated. You can go to www.wecarepeople.org to find out more about “I Mind”.
